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A MAN pedals a brand-new, orange and silver bicycle to his office door. Hedismountsin the middle of the pavement,flicksdown the kickstandand disappears inside. A woman approaches andwaves her smartphone over a QR codenear therear mudguard.The lock snaps openand off she rides. These days, China’sonce bicycle-clogged streets are choked with cars. But someurbanitesare getting back on twowheels,luredby the ease of using shared “dockless” bikes controlled by high-techgadgetry.
Dismount:to get off a horse, bicycle or motorcycle
Flick:to move sth. quickly and suddenly
kickstand/ˈkɪkˌstænd/( kickstands )
N-COUNTAkickstandis a metal bar attached to a bicycle or motorcycle that holds it upright when it is not being used. (自行车或摩托车的)撑脚架
Snap open :to open quickly with a sudden sharp sound（啪地一声打开了）
Urbanites :people living in urban area
Gadgetry:small machines or devices小设备
一位先生骑着一辆全新的橙银相间的自行车来到他的办公室门口，在人行道中间下了车，落下撑脚架，消失在大楼里。一位女士走过来，用智能手机挥了挥车后挡板上的二维码。车锁啪地打开了，她骑上车走了。曾经满是自行车的中国街道现在被汽车堵得水泄不通。不过共享单车采用高科技小设备，可无桩停放，其便捷性吸引了一些城里人开始回归自行车。
For years, bike-sharing schemes have been common in big cities around the world, including in China. Examples include Paris’s Vélib and London’s Santander Cycles(Boris bike）.But these require customers to return the bicycles todocking stations.In China, a moreuser-friendlyapproach is spreading rapidly. It involves bikes that can be paid for using a smartphone and left anywhere. GPS tracking enables them to be located with a mobile app. A ride typically costs only one yuan ($0.15) on asleek-framedbike in an eye-catching colour.
sleek-framed：smoothly attractively shaped
多年来，共享单车计划在全世界的大城市已经十分普遍，例如巴黎公共自行车Veilb和伦敦的桑坦德自行车(也被称为“鲍里斯自行车”)。但是这些单车都需要用户将自行车归还到站点。在中国，一种对用户体验来说更为便捷的方法正在快速地传播。手机支付，随停随用。GPS追踪装置使用户可以利用手机App直接定位单车。这些单车外观良好、颜色闪亮，骑一次通常只需1元（0.15美金）。
The first such service was launched in June 2015 by a startup called Ofo. The company now has around 2.5m yellow-framed bikes in more than 50 cities in China. Its main rival, Mobike, which started up only a year ago, says it has“several million”of its orange-wheeled bikes spread across a similar area. Bluegogo has half a million bikes in six Chinese cities. It plans to add a new city every two weeks.
2015年6月，名为Ofo的创业公司率先提供单车服务。目前，这家公司在中国的50多个城市约有250万辆黄色单车。它的主要竞争对手摩拜单车成立仅一年，声称在相同范围也投放了数百万辆橙色轮子的单车。小蓝单车在6个中国城市拥有50万辆单车，它计划每隔两周增加一个新城市。
Several other companies arepiling in,as are investorswho believe the firms have global potential. Bluegogo was the first to launch overseas, in San Francisco in February. Ofo has recently started services in Singapore and San Diego, California. It was due to launch another one in Cambridge, England, asThe Economistwent to press. Mobike, too, is operating in Singapore and is eyeing other markets.
其他一些公司扎堆而来，投资者也加了进来，他们相信这些公司具备全球潜力，2月，小蓝单车率先在旧金山拓展海外业务。Ofo最近在新加坡和加州的圣地亚哥开展服务。在《经济学人》发稿时，它宣称将在英国剑桥设立业务。摩拜单车也在新加坡开展业务，还着眼于其他市场。
The dockless system is prone to abuse. Some riders hide the bikes in or near their homes to prevent others from using them. Another trick involves photographing a bike’s QR code and then scratching it off to stop others from scanning it. With the stored image, the rider can then monopolise the machine. But customers caught misbehaving can have points deducted from their accounts, making it more expensive for them to rent the bikes.
无桩停放也会被滥用。许多用户将单车藏在家附近，以避免他人使用。另一种小伎俩就是给单车的二维码拍了照但又刮花它，防止他人扫描。利用存下来的照片，他们就可以独享单车。不过如果这些用户的违规行为被抓包，他们的账户要被扣分，之后再租车就更贵了。
A bigger problem for the new firms is persuading people to use bikes instead of cars. Thirty years ago, 63% of Beijingers pedalled to work. Now only 12% do. Many people think that cycling is only for the poor. A dating-show contestant famously quipped in 2010 that she would“rather cry in a BMW than smile on a bike.”
这些新公司如何说服人们放弃汽车，使用单车是一个更大的问题。30年前，63%的北京人骑车上班。现在只有12%的人这么做。许多人认为只有穷人才骑自行车。2010年，一个相亲真人秀节目的嘉宾就有一句名言“宁可坐在宝马里哭，也不要坐在自行车上笑”。
Cycling is also dangerous. About 40% of road accidents involve bicycles, according to a report in 2013. (Many bike lanes have been eliminated to make room for cars.) Some city authorities accuse the bike-sharing firms of causing congestion. This month the southern city of Shenzhen ordered limits on the number of shared bikes. Other cities, including Shanghai and Beijing, are considering similar measures.
骑自行车也很危险。2013年的一份报告显示约有40%的道路事故和自行车有关。许多自行车道被取消了，为的是给汽车腾出更多的空间。有些城市政府指责共享单车公司导致了交通拥堵。本月，深圳市政府就下令限制共享单车的数量。其他城市，包括上海、北京在内，也正在考虑采取类似措施。
But Chinese leaders like the services—they represent the kind of green innovation that China says it wants. In January the prime minister, Li Keqiang, told Mobike’s co-founder that her business model was“a revolution”. Not, presumably, the kind that Mao led, but one that would have made the chairman feel at home with its profusion of two-wheelers.
但是中国的领导也喜欢这种服务，因为它们代表着一种中国想要的绿色创新。1月，李克强总理对摩拜单车的联合创始人表示她的商业模式是“一种革命”。这大概不是毛泽东领导的那种革命，但是这种革命带来的大量自行车多多少少会让人有一种毛主席时代熟悉的感觉。
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